Liu Ye excitedly took a small bite of the chicken leg and slowly chewed it in her mouth.
Oh heavens… it was so good. Meat really was the best.
In her previous life, in order to lose weight, she had tormented herself badly. She barely ate any meat at all, surviving mostly on boiled vegetables every day. But in this life, she was so thin—skinny like a dried reed. Gaining weight was difficult, and eating meat was almost a luxury.
Right… she still had a big black pig stored in her space. Once she dealt with that pig, she could even give Brother Bai some meat as a return gift.
“Mmm, this chicken leg is delicious. Brother Bai, your mother must have stewed it, right? Your mother’s cooking is amazing.”
A flash of bitterness crossed Bai Zilin’s eyes.
He thought to himself: It’s not my mother’s cooking that’s good—it’s my cooking that’s good.
Ever since his younger sister Bai Zimei was born, his mother had thrown almost all household work onto him—cooking, washing, everything. He remembered clearly that he was only five years old then, too short to even reach the stove, standing on a small stool just to cook.
Now his sister had grown up, but all the housework was still his responsibility. His mother only occasionally helped during New Year or festivals. As for his sister—she was just like their mother, or even like their father: lazy.
His father was the laziest of all. Couldn’t lift anything, couldn’t do any work, useless at everything, and yet he ate the most. Just because he had studied for three years and could recognize a few characters, he constantly acted like some cultured scholar. It was laughable.
At ten years old, Bai Zilin had learned hunting from an old hunter. Otherwise… sigh. Their entire family had survived on him all these years. He was truly exhausted.
“…It’s getting late. I’m going to sleep. You should sleep early too.”
Liu Ye smiled and waved at him. “Brother Bai, I wish you sweet dreams.”
Bai Zilin curved his lips into a bitter smile.
Sweet dreams? It would already be good if he didn’t have nightmares.
With a light leap, he jumped down from the wall and returned to his room.
After finishing the chicken leg, Liu Ye lay down on the haystack in satisfaction, staring at the stars. Before long, she also fell asleep.
The next morning, Liu Ye was awakened by a noisy commotion.
What was going on? Why was it so loud?
She sat up from the haystack—and good heavens—outside the broken house stood the entire Liu family, along with many villagers behind them.
Village Chief Zhao from Shizi Valley shouted toward her from the firewood pile.“Foolish girl, come down! Uncle has something to tell you!”
Liu Ye shook her head. Without understanding the situation, she refused to go down. There were so many people—what if they hit her?
Seeing she wouldn’t come down, the village chief suddenly realized she might be afraid of being beaten by the Liu family.
“Don’t worry, I’m here. They won’t dare touch you. Come down, I need to talk to you.”
Hearing she wouldn’t be beaten, Liu Ye finally decided to go down and see what they were planning.
She slid down from the firewood pile and took only a few steps forward before stopping.
Village Chief Zhao looked at Old Master Liu. “Go on, you explain.”
Old Master Liu took out two documents from his chest and turned to the villagers, speaking loudly:
“This is a severance document. Everyone in our Liu family agrees—this foolish girl will be completely cut off from our family. From now on, she is no longer a member of the Liu family. We will not give her a single copper coin, nor will she need to support us. From this day on, we are completely severed.”
Then he turned to Liu Ye.
“You fool, come over here and press your fingerprint. From now on, you are no longer part of the Liu family. Hurry up!”
When Liu Ye heard they were cutting ties, she was instantly thrilled inside.
Great! Finally free from the Liu family. She wouldn’t need to pretend to be a fool anymore.
She slowly walked over.
Village Chief Zhao took out an ink pad, grabbed her finger, pressed it into the ink, and then stamped it onto the severance paper. He handed her one copy.
“This is your copy. I don’t know if you understand, but keep it safe. Even if you lose it, it’s fine—the government has records. From now on, don’t go back to the Liu family. That is no longer your home.”
Liu Ye took the paper, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it into her clothes before storing it in her space.
The villagers burst into laughter.
“Haha, look at this fool, she’s hilarious!”
Village Chief Zhao also shook his head with amusement. “Since you like this broken yard, I’ll just give it to you then.”
“Old Liu, I should also remind you—she’s no longer part of your family. Don’t beat or scold her anymore.”
Old Master Liu nodded happily. “Don’t worry, Village Chief Zhao. Just seeing her makes me sick. I’m too lazy even to waste saliva on her. Thank you, thank you. We’ll head back now—come visit sometime!”
The village chief gave a perfunctory nod, thinking: I’d never set foot in that house full of trash.
The Liu family didn’t even spare Liu Ye a second glance and left without hesitation. Once the village chief left, the watching crowd also dispersed.
In the end, only Liu Ye remained standing in front of the broken house.
She turned to look at it.
So this broken place… was now her home.
Alright then.
Even if it was a bit shabby, at least she finally had a home.
She could fix it up. Maybe it would even rain in the next couple of days, and she wouldn’t have to sleep on the firewood pile anymore.
Liu Ye walked around inside the broken house once. There was really no point repairing it—it would have to be rebuilt entirely.
But she had no money.
Wait… why was she even thinking about rebuilding it?
If she had money, why not just go to town and buy a proper house?
This broken Shizi Valley—and that disgusting Liu family—she had no intention of settling here anyway.
She would just stay here temporarily.
The door of the Bai family closed quietly, and a shadow flickered inside.
Liu Ye clapped her hands and headed up the mountain.
At the stream where she had bathed before, the water flow was even weaker now—some parts had already dried up.
She washed her face, then took out an apple from her space and sat on a rock eating it.
“The water is drying up… that’s not a good sign.”
It looked like people here wouldn’t be far from fleeing famine.
When the time came, she would leave with them. Once she reached the south, she wouldn’t come back.
Since ancient times, the south had always been prosperous and rich in rice and fish—people wouldn’t starve there.
After finishing the apple, she entered her space.
And then she saw something unbelievable—
The four apple trees she had planted yesterday had already taken root in the black soil and were even blooming.
Amazing!
They hadn’t needed any planting at all.
The small apples on the trees had also grown bigger overnight. Nearby were a few new saplings—clearly grown from apple seeds she had tossed in.
Soybeans had formed pods, corn cobs had grown large—at this rate, they might ripen tomorrow.
Cucumbers were hanging everywhere, peppers were red and green and already edible, eggplants and tomatoes were full on the vines, leafy greens were oversized, cabbages were thick and heavy—each one weighing over ten pounds. Scallions and leeks were lush and green.
Liu Ye picked a cucumber, didn’t wash it, and took a big bite.
Crisp, sweet, and refreshing.
“Wow… this is amazing. So delicious! As expected, everything from the space is top quality.”